1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to client and server negotiation of functions and features. In particular, this invention provides a functional interface at the client which initially connects to and conducts features and function negotiations with the server on behalf of the client, and thereafter exchanges data streams between the server and the client.
2. Background Art
Today, most Telnet clients lack the ability to implement RFC 1572 extensions, whereby negotiations with an AS/400 Telnet server occur to establish a specific device type, code page, character set, and so forth, for a desired Telnet connection. The RFC 1572 protocol is described in Network Working Group, Telnet Environment Option, Request for Comments 1572, January 1994, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In order to take advantage of functions and features negotiations provided by RFC 1572, Telenet clients must be modified. These new functions and features include (1) starting specific jobs based upon the device name; (2) restricting application access based on device name; and (3) selecting terminal and keyboard language information by device selection, because virtual devices have national language support attributes already associated with them.
However, modifications to Telnet clients are neither easy nor trivial. Adding RFC support typically requires some kind of client interface update to perform the negotiation.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved client interface supporting functions and features negotiations.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a client interface that performs negotiations for device name, code page, character set, and the like on behalf of a Telnet client.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system and method for enabling RFC 1572 negotiations without having to modify the client to support the new options.
It is a further object of the invention to allow enhanced features provided in a Telnet server to be exploited by traditional (or, legacy) Telnet clients.